Low Profile Graphics Card Upgrade

There are several Half Height PCI Xpress cards available these come with a full height bracket and a half height bracket generally of the ATI type but the last ABIT 512 MEG card that I used was this type of card.

Col

Thanks, I've read about the mounts which adds somewhat to the current confusion of my situation.

I'm looking for a more definitive sort of..

"I use (name graphic card here) and its fantastic. Check this link (provide link here)This card would fit into your system"

another forum answered:
"You have the equivalent of a Vauxhall Corsa. you can paint stripes on it, stick some speakers in the boot and bung a big exhaust on, but nothing is going to turn it into a Lotus".

Ha ha ha! Surely my search is not hopeless!

Good luck in your search....

The X600SE is adequate for many games if you don't require high resolutions and anti-aliasing. I personally run an X700 SE with 512MB of RAM and play Battlefield 2 at 1024x768 at medium detail.

There are very few high end half height gaming video cards. The top video cards actually use 2 full height slots, one for the card and the space over the next is for the fan and heat sink on the VPU and RAM.

I have a nVidia 5200 that is a half height but it wouldn't be as fast as the x600. There are 6200s but they would be roughly as fast as the x600.

The one chipset you should investigate is the nVidia 7300. Depending on the card maker, some are half height, some full height.

Here is an example of a half height 7300:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1901448&CatId=1826

A word about Turbocache, it allows the card to use RAM from the motherboard as additional RAM for the video card - its not as fast as having the RAM on the card and of course, you should max out your RAM on the MB. Your x600 SE does the same thing (Hypermemory in ATI terms).

I would suggest the 7300 GS model and 256 MB of memory - the 7300 LE with 128 would be more like what you already have. From what I have seen you should see approximately 50% performance increase from a 7300 GS over a x600 SE.

James

I've also recently purchased a Dell 5100c with the 128MB ATI x600 card. I've also been looking for an upgrade. So far I've come up with two upgrade option, assuming you are like me and want to stick with the ATI brand, You can upgrade to the 256MB version of the same x600 ATI card. I've only seen them on eBay. On eBay you can get one used for under $30.00 or new for about $50.00plus.
The more superior option is to upgrade to the 256MB ATI x700 version. The x700 has superior 3D capabilities, is faster and is VISTA OS ready. This card is sold specifically for the DELL 5100c/5150c/XPS200 at one website for 137.99, see link

http://www.compatible-parts.com/product_info.php?products_id=745

I've been saving up to purchase it for my DELL. I'll let you know how it goes. Also be sure that you get a low profile card AND a low profile bracket. Since most low profile cards are sold with regular size brackets.
Good Luck,
G.Webb

Yeah let me know how you get on with that.

I've found a UK retailer selling the ATI 256MB X700 card for ?64.34 inc VAT.
http://www.cedartek.co.uk/pricelist.asp

I am thinking about getting the XFX GeForce 7300GS PCI-Express 256MB (512MB Turbo-Cache) card though as I can get it for Under ?50. It seems to have higher specs than the ATI X700. It just depends whether the on board fan will fit into the case. Obviously I'd need to remove the VGA connector and get a half height bracket.

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=12732

The next problem could be keeping the components cool... there's not a great deal of airflow through these machines and things already seem hot enough.

Hi - I've had a Dell Dimension 5150c for a few months now and I would like a graphics card upgrade myself. I have done some research and have found two good answers -
OPTION 1: buy the nvidia XFX7300 GS (at about ?45)... BUT just because it is a low profile card doesn't mean it will fit in a low profile system (like the 5150c), and it wont unless you purchase a seperate 'XFX low profile bracket kit' for $9.99 (I've only found it retailing in the U.S. and as I live in the U.K it can't be shipped over here, so if you live in the United Kingdom I suggest you don't bother with this option).
OPTION 2: Purchase the rather pricey ATI Sapphire Radeon X1600 Pro HDMI card. This seems to be the only decent ATI card i've found. It has HDMI (high definition) support and a standard connector too (sorry for being vague). It is a low profile card and comes with a bonus low profile bracket, so in theory,it should work perfectly with a 5150c (please check anyway) - oh yes, the price of this card is ?85-105 and more details can be found here : http://www.sapphiretech.com/uk/products/products_overview.php?gpid=145&grp=3
I hope my advise has been useful to you